Steger School District 194

The three schools in Steger School District 194 serve students from preschool through grade 8 in the Steger area: Steger Primary Center serves PK–1, Steger Intermediate Center serves grades 2–4, and Columbia Central School serves grades 5–8. The clearest academic contrast is that Columbia leads in English language arts (ELA), while math results are below the state at both schools with reported scores. In 2025–26, Columbia had 59% proficient in ELA, compared with 32% at Intermediate; in math, Intermediate had 30% and Columbia 19%, against a state result of 40%. Columbia’s ELA strength does not extend to math, where both schools trail the state.

Columbia stands out in all-grades ELA: its 59% result was 2 points above the state, while Intermediate’s 32% was 24 points below. Intermediate leads in math, but its 30% result was still 10 points below the state; Columbia was 20 points below. Columbia’s grade-level results add important context: grade 6 ELA reached 65%, 6 points above the state, but its math results were below the state in every tested grade. Its grade 5 and grade 8 science results were 21% and 25%, respectively, each about 26 points below the state. Primary has no supplied test results.

Recent trends are mixed, and small gains did not always keep pace with state improvement. Columbia’s ELA fell from 61% to 59% between 2024–25 and 2025–26 as the state rose from 53% to 56%; Intermediate’s ELA edged up from 31.8% to 32.3%, but its state gap widened. SchoolDigger’s percentile ranks also declined from 2023–24 to 2025–26: Columbia went from 47 to 31, and Intermediate from 33 to 12. School circumstances differ: in 2024–25, free/reduced lunch eligible students made up 56% at Columbia, 63% at Intermediate, and 60% at Primary; student-teacher ratios were 16.5, 13.6, and 18.8, respectively. Chronic absenteeism was similar across the schools, at about 32%–33%, compared with 24% statewide. SchoolDigger’s ranking comparison pools vary by year.